FONT

SHARE THIS

MORE STORIES

Troutdale targets windblown trash issue

Hoping to prevent a reoccurrence of an ugly January incident, the Troutdale City Council is considering several measures to deal with windblown trash.

A storm iced up local roads in the middle of January, and the city's contractor, Waste Management, couldn't make its normal Wednesday rounds.

The contractor, which couldn't pick up trash the next day, either, elected to let residents store twice as much trash in their bins and make one large pick-up the following week.

The Tuesday night before the scheduled pick-up saw a return of the East Wind, which blew two weeks of accumulated trash all over.

The city received about a dozen complaints, said Rich Faith, community development director.

To avoid another 'perfect storm,' as he called the circumstances, Faith presented several options to councilors Tuesday night, March 27.

The City Council could amend its agreement with Waste Management to mandate weekly pick-ups as soon as possible, instead of skipping to the next week.

Councilors could also require residents to have roll-cart containers with attached lids. Such bins are now an option for customers, but are not required by law, Faith said.

A third option would be to implement an additional service option so customers don't have to bring bins out to the curb.

Trash containers left next to homes and garages are better protected from the wind, Faith noted. The non-curbside service would cost customers more, as would the other options.

'We don't know how significant the cost increase will be,' Faith said. The recommendations came during a work session and the council took no formal action Tuesday.

The city could also start fining residents for overfilling bins. Finally, the city may ask Waste Management to research the cost of providing roll-carts with a latching system, so that trash won't blow away even if the container tips over.